Ex-Mckinsey exec says sold tips to Rajaratnam

Anil Kumar, former Indian American partner of consulting firm McKinsey & Co, has testified to leaking secrets about his clients to billionaire hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam in exchange for $1.8 million.

Anil Kumar, former Indian American partner of consulting firm McKinsey & Co, has testified to leaking secrets about his clients to billionaire hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam in exchange for $1.8 million.

Taking the witness stand in the biggest US insider trading trial in years, Kumar told a New York court on Thursday that Galleon founder Rajaratnam practically put the money in his account against his will. It was because Rajaratnam had paid him so much (the deal was for $250,000 per year) that he felt obligated to tell him secret information about AMD, a micro chip company whose shares Rajaratnam allegedly traded improperly, he said.

"[I violated my confidentiality agreement with McKinsey and AMD because] I felt I owed him something given how much he paid me," Kumar said.

Kumar told Rajaratnam non-public information about "Octeron," a chip that AMD was secretly creating in order to challenge Intel's business with HP.